Early Christmas present for me - Redback by Lindy Cameron:
Blurb from the book: On an otherwise tranquil Pacific Island resort, ex-army Commander Bryn Gideon and the crack Australian Redback Retrieval Team stage a high-level rescue bid to recover hostages captured by Rebels. Thousands of miles away, American journalist Scott Dreher is researching computer wargames, and finds a pirated copy that reveals shady arms dealings and disturbing hints of connections between government agencies and known terrorists.
First paragraph: It was the last good night of Lord James McQuade: he'd been wined, dined and royally screwed. Truffles, a vintage red and sweet Miss Jones. Sixty-six years old tomorrow and not destined to outlive his wolfhound.
Commander Bryn Gideon and the crack Australian ‘Redback Retrieval Team’ rescue hostages from Pacific island rebels. American journalist Scott Dreher, researching computer war-game training, uncovers links between Western government agencies and known terrorist groups.
Meanwhile ritual killings in London and Tokyo, a bomb on a European train, an assassination on an Australian beach, and an attack on a US army base have half the world on high alert. The question is: are these incidents the work of isolated opportunistic terrorists, or part of something more sinister?
Gideon’s Redbacks join the race to expose the ultimate conspiracy of a truly evil force; one that plays both sides of the terror divide against each other.